Meet the Maker: Bookbinding Words

It’s not everyday you make art with complete strangers. That’s what the Bookbinding and Papermaking art project wants you to do. At Mini-Maker Faire, people can learn how to make Flexagons and play the Exquisite Corpse. A Flexagon is “a piece of paper that can be folded in different ways, revealing and rearranging page order.” When completed, the Flexagons will be a central part of the writing and drawing game called “The Exquisite Corpse.” This is how it’s played. Everyone gets to write or draw something small on a side of the Flexagon. Then the Flexagon is passed to the next person who draws or writes something on a blank side, without seeing the preceding artwork. The Flexagon is passed on and on until it is completed. At the end of the game, the group will have collectively created funny, profound poetry and art pieces. It’s about collectively creating art.

The project is a collaborative project is part of Columbia College’s Center for Community Partnerships at Carl Schurz School. It is a collaborative project between FLOWetry, led by teaching artist Maya Odim, and Printing Sans Ink, led by teaching artist Trisha Martin. FLOWetry teaches poetry and performance art while Printing Sans Ink focuses on bookbinding, such as papermaking, paper folding and more. Come join them at Mini-Maker Faire to make your own Flexagon and play the Exquisite Corpse!